Hmmm. I heard on the news that Kansas will be slow in responding to the tornado extravaganza last week, particularly in Greenburg. It seems that the various emergency response people, trucks, trailers (and various other supplies needed to respond in a meaningful way) happen to be in IRAQ of all places. Charming. Is this the white-persons' Katrina? Or will there be a better bailout for these nice white (possibly Republican) folks in good old Middle America? Will their town be build back up with all due haste? I guess we shall see. Maybe with enough of this sort of stuff we may find out that Iraq is a bad thing for a number of reasons, not least of which is because it seems to be drawing all our resources away from here—men, brains, equipment, etc.

[And now for the shadowy conspiracy theory...]

All the emergency crews fighting terrorism (supposedly) over there, but the real terrorist-cum-destroyers-of-American-Cities is the weather in the Heartland. So much for Homeland Security.

[And now for extra super shadowy conspiracy theory...]

Or maybe global warming and these violent storms is a proxy paramilitary agent for the US Government—able to destroy American cities without a clear, traceable path back to the bad men in power except for their little wars on abstract concepts which make it increasingly difficult to respond to these natural threats. Maybe it's time to proclaim a Global War on Nature. Oh, wait. That is what the whole concept of civilization (specifically industrial society) is all about!